


The Man for the Job

by Heartithateyou



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-02
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-10 05:28:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/782342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartithateyou/pseuds/Heartithateyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark, head of Stark Industries' decides he needs help from the graphic design on a project. What he didn't expect was the newly hired Steve Rogers to be the man for the job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Pepper!" Tony shouts, unwilling to leave his desk. "Pepper!"

"Tony, you're a grown man, you can get up from the desk when you need something."

"Do we have a graphic design department? Companies have those right?" Tony says, propping his feet up on his desk.

There's a moment of pause while Pepper just stares at him, with that look on his face that says 'for a genius, I am amazed how much of an idiot you can be'. She takes in a breath before replying "Yes Tony, a multibillion dollar company would most likely have a graphic design department."

Ignoring the weight of her sarcasm, he continues "Great, I need to borrow them."

"Tony, you can't just borrow an entire department!" Pepper says before rolling her eyes "What do you ever need them for?"

"Just a pet project." Tony says, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I even want to no?" Pepper replies.

"Not even a little, but if you insist-"

"I'll send someone up." Pepper quickly cuts in before he can finish the sentiment. "One person, that's all though."

 

Steve Rogers was settling into working at Stark Industries', the work was a little commercial but it helped to pay the bills and his art school loans.

"Mr.Rogers." A voice says, dragging Steve away from the drafts he's working on. He looks up as Ms.Potts approaches him, a frazzled look on her face. "I need your help."

"Sure, whatever you need." Steve says with an easy smile.

"Mr.Stark has requested help on a project of his, I was hoping you wouldn't mind." She says with a smile. 

"Oh sure, I'm working on some other things right now-"

"Don't worry, I'll have someone else take over."

"What sort of project is it?" Steve asks, not sure what a billionaire genius would need with a fresh from art school graphic designer.

"I didn't ask, I'm sure he'll fill you in on all the details." Ms.Potts' smile getting a little more strained.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why are you asking me? I'm sure there's people with more experience." Steve asks, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Most of the department refuses to work with him and the others want to sleep with him. You're the only person I could think of that doesn't."

Steve blushes at this, obviously he would never sleep with his boss, no matter how good looking the man was. And its not like Mr.Stark could do anything that would infuriate him.

"I understand Ms.Potts." He says, putting all his drafts into a folder before handing them to her. 

"Pepper, please." She says with a calmer smile. "You should probably go meet him now, patience has never been one of his virtues."

"Right away, Ms.Potts." Steve says as he stands up.

"And it might help if you just ignore the majority of what he says. It makes him much more bearable." She says before turning to leave. Steve gathers up some supplies and shoves them into a brief case before heading to the elevators. He punches in the top floor and tries to steady his nerves. 

The elevator doors open and he heads to Mr.Stark's office. The secretary gives him a look as she buzzes him into the office and he's not sure how to take that.

"Mr.Stark?" He says as he enters, finding the billionaire turned around in his chair.

"Something tells me you're not the tall, well endowed hot blond I was hoping Pepper would send, I've been trying to arrange a meeting for ages with her. I swear Pepper really needs to learn to trust me-" Tony cuts off as he spins around and finally takes Steve in. "Well, you're not the same tall, well endowed hot blond I was expecting but I think you might be even better."

Steve blushes at him, not sure how to react to this compliment.

"Mr.Stark, Ms.Potts says you needed some help with graphic design."

"And remind me to start hanging around the graphic design department more." Tony says as he slowly runs his eyes up and down Steve.

"Mr.Stark, what did you want me to help you with?"

"Well I can think of a few things, but I think we should keep things professional during office hours, don't you?" Tony says with a smirk. Steve can feel his blush deepen even more, this was not how he imagined his first meeting with his boss going. "But there is something you can help me with."

Tony turns and grabs his tablet. "I just bought an embarrassingly huge jet, and its not quite... me yet." Tony says as he makes his way through various files before handing the tablet over to Steve. Steve looked at it, it seemed like a regular, albeit huge jet. Tony stands up and starts walking towards Steve as he rambles. "So I need you to make a design to paint on the outside. Something gaudy, something that says Stark. So that way when I fly anywhere near a competitors company they can't help but shudder."

Steve nods, only partially listening to what he's saying while he mind starts running with the possibilities. It'd definitely be the biggest canvas he's ever worked on.

"Think you're up for the job, Blondie?" Tony says directly into his ear.

Steve can feel his blush deepen as he feels Tony's warm breath against his skin.

"Of course, Mr.Stark. I'll start the designs right away." Steve says as he hands the man back the tablet and takes a step back. He gives him a terse smile before he heads towards the door.

"Call me Tony, please." Tony says behind him, making Steve turn. "And just so you know, I can be very demanding." 

"I'm sure I'm the man for the job." Steve says with a last smile before he opens the door and leaves.

While waiting for the elevator, he realizes this is going to be a very interesting job.


	2. A Great Design

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is working late on Tony's designs, but what is Tony doing there so late?

Steve returned to his desk, his mind flooded with ideas for the plane, ready to turn them into reality. He took out his sketch pad and pencils and quickly grabbed all of the shades of red and gold he could find.

He knew he had to make this very Tony Stark, but it was now his mission to make it something beautiful as well. Something that represented Tony Stark the man, gaudy and flamboyant, but representing all of the pain and grief he had been through.

Steve started to sketch, letting reality slip away from him as he drew and shaded. When he finally torn himself away, hours later, he realized he was the only one left in the entire department. But when he looked down at his drawing, he knew the hours had been worth it.

And its not like anyone would be waiting for him at home.

He sighed at this, the last person he had been with, Peggy, had ended a few months ago when she took a post in Europe. He understood her commitment to the army, but it still hurt that between the two she chose the army over him.

"Well, and here I thought I would be the last one in the office." A voice suddenly came from the darkness.

Steve looked up and tried to make out a figure through the office. The first thing he was able to focus on was a wolfish grin, then slowly the rest of Tony Stark came into view.

"Mr.Stark, I'm surprised to see you here this late." He said with a smile, ignoring the slight flutter in his stomach.

"I thought we already went through this, call me Tony." He says as he approaches Steve's desk. "Have something to show me?"

"Actually, I do. Here are some of the plans I came up with." Steve says before handing Tony a few of the pages,

The billionaire is suspiciously silent as he glances through them and Steve can't help but admire the man as he does. Those amber eyes, that goatee which accentuated his mouth, that mouth that looked so sweet and ready for Steve to-

"You know, it'd be a lot easier to focus on these plans if you weren't staring at me the whole time." Tony says without even glancing up from the designs.

Steve can feel his cheeks immediately blush "I was just wondering how you liked the plans."

"I doubt those are the only things you're wondering." Tony says with a smirk. "But as for the plans, they're good, surprisingly good Blondie."

"Well, I'm glad, which one-" Before he can finish the sentence, Tony's lips are on his, firm, not asking for permission. Steve can't even respond, he's too shocked that this is happening.

"Tony!" He finally says as he pulls away, somewhat reluctantly.

"This is the design, go with this one." Tony says as he puts one of the drawings on the table. Suddenly he turns to leave, walking towards the elevators.

"Tony!"

"You should go home, get some sleep. This job isn't over yet." Tony says, not even looking back as he leaves.

Steve's mind reels as he tries to comprehend everything.

This job might be out of his league.


	3. Chapter 3

He went into work the next day not knowing what to expect.

He'd lain awake most of the night, his mind tossing and turning over the events of the previous evening; the feeling of Tony's lips on his, the way his heart jumped, the slight brush of scruff against his cheek.

And how he couldn't help but want to feel it again.

So he walked in, his palms shaking and legs not quite steady and headed to his desk.

His desk.

Where there was now a note.

His hands quivered as he opened it, looking around to make sure no one was watching him.

"My office. Pronto."

He couldn't help but let out a sigh as he read the message, before carefully folding it up before standing up and heading to Tony's office.

No one else would leave such an obnoxious message.

He doesn't bother knocking on the door, just walks in.

"Mr. Sta- I mean Tony." He says to the other man, seated at the desk.

"Steve." Tony says back. But something about the way he looks at him, how his voice is lacking emotion, it makes him feel off.

"I got your note and-"

"Great, so I liked your proposal and sent it to the team in charge of the paint job, so that's all I'll need from you." Tony says with a strained smile before diverting his eyes back to his paper work. "You can go back to your department, I'm sure they'll have something for you."

"That's.... that's it?" He can hear his voice break slightly as he utters it.

"That's it. You do a job, you're done." Tony's eyes never leaving his papers.

"So... I'm just a job." He barely manages to get out.

"Make sure you close the door as you leave." Tony mutters.

That's it.

He makes his way out of the office, slamming the door as he leaves.

 

'What the hell was wrong with him?' Tony asked himself as he watched the tall blond leave his office. 

All they'd done was kiss, just once, they hadn't even made out properly and he was feeling like this. 

He was feeling his heart race whenever he sees the man, whenever he talks he can only focus on how his lips move and imagine his lips on his, when he watches him sketch all he can imagine his those hands on his body.

This man, Steve Rogers, the epitome of the American dream, had managed to seduce him and didn't even know.

Which  means he had to make sure that he stayed as far away from him as possible.

Because no one as good and kind as Steve should have to be subjected to the emotional train wreck that is Tony Stark.

Not that pushing him away had made him feel any better.

So he texted Pepper that he was done for the day and left to curl up in his lab with a bottle of scotch.


	4. Chapter 4

“Tony? Tony?” A voice asks as someone walks down the stairs.

“He isn’t here right now, please leave a message at the beep.” He yells back, only slurring slightly.

“Hilarious. Gets even funnier after the 200th time.” Pepper says with an eyeroll as she enters the lab.

“What’re you doing here?” He asks as he glances at the time. He didn’t know where she was supposed to be this afternoon, but it sure as hell wasn’t here.

“I got your note, what’s going on with you?” She asks as she notices the bottle of scotch near him.

“Nothing, I just didn’t feel like being at work anymore.” He murmurs as he takes another sip.

“Oh really? And now you’re just drinking in the middle of the day for no reason?” She asks, placing her hands on her hips.

“Its almost five!” He says as he gestures to the clock.

“Stop avoiding the question Tony. Yesterday I practically had to harass you out of the office and now you’re acting like the place is on fire.” She says as she picks up the glass Tony has put down and places a coaster beneath it.

“I got bored.” He says, hoping this conversation will just end already.

“Really? So this has nothing to do with the graphic designer that came into my office looking like a kicked puppy?” She asks as she rasies her eyebrows.

“What? Steve was in your office?” He asks, immediately wanting to know all the details.

“Yes, he was. He was wondering if he had done something wrong since you pretty much kicked him to the curb.” She says patiently.

“I didn’t kick him to the curb… He created the design, I liked it, job was done.” He mutters softly.

“Tony… what happened?” Pepper asks softly.

“How did you know something happened?” He asks, hoping to avoid the question.

“Tony, I know you.” She says gently. Despite everything they’d been through, she still knew him better than almost anyone.

“I kissed him.” He admits softly.

“You kissed him?” She asks, completely slackjawed.

“I did. Just once, last night. And then I sort of ran away.” He continues.

“What? You ran? Why?” She asks, looking more confused than when this conversation started.

“Have you seen his file? Joined the army right out of high school, went rouge to save half a unit, earned the medal of honor… Pepper, he’s a good man.” Tony says, picking up his glass again.

“When did you even have time to find out all of this? And how?” Pepper asks, picking up the file Tony put together.

“Last night. JARVIS.” He says. He’d been unable to sleep after that kiss and decided to see what he could find out about the other man.

And it was so much worse than he could have expected. This man was practically a saint, without so much as a parking ticket. Everything he found out just made him fall more in love with him and it was killing him.

“So the problem is he’s a decent person?” Pepper asks, clearly confused.

“Not just decent Pepper, amazing. In other words, far too good for a fuck up like me.” He ends softly, wanting to bang his head against the table.

“Tony, you are a much better person than you ever give yourself credit for. And after everything you’ve been through… maybe you deserve a little happiness.” She ends softly, squeezing him reassuringly on the shoulder. She puts the folder back down and leans over to place a kiss on his forehead.

“You deserve to be happy Tony Stark. Don’t let yourself get in the way.” She says softly before she turns to leave. 

“I don’t even know how to fix this Pepper.” He shouts back.

“Be in your office tomorrow. I’ll take care of the rest.” She says as she walks out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

He nervously tapped his hand against his desk the next day.

What was he doing here? He had to remind himself every two seconds not to run away and lock himself back in the lab.

Suddenly, a tentative knock came from the door.

“Yes?” He asks, his voice squeaking, “I mean, come in.”

The door opens and Steve is nervously standing in the doorway.

“Steve. Hi.” He says, wanting to punch himself for that. It’s like he’d never spoken a word to an attractive man before.

“Hi. Pepper came by and talked to me this morning, she said that there was something you wanted to talk about?” Steve says quietly, keeping his eyes focused on the rug.

“Right. Right.” He says, wishing Pepper had given him some idea what he was supposed to say.

“Was it… about the designs?” Steve asks, fidgeting with the pen in his hands. How does anyone make fidgeting look hot?

“Yes!” He exclaims, glad to avoid talking about anything related to feelings at the moment. 

“Did you… Was there something I wanted to change?” Steve asks, biting his lip. Fuck that’s hot.

“Yes, there was definitely something I wanted to do differently… with the design, I mean.” He clarifies, hoping his words don’t reveal too much truth.

“Oh, okay. What did you have in mind?” Steve asks as he finally walks towards him. He can see the anxiety sketched in every inch of his body and he hates that he’s the one who did this to him.

“Well um….” He says, his mind drawing a blank. To be honest, he fucking loved the designed and had trouble finding any sort of flaw with it, “This red. It’s very obvious.”

“Oh, okay then. I thought you wanted it to be… loud.” Steve says tactfully.

“I thought so too. And loud and obvious is great sometimes, definitely something that would probably work for years. But maybe it’s time for a change. Something… softer maybe. I still want it to say Stark Industry’s but I guess I’m just figuring out what that means now.” He rambles, watching Steve’s hand as he makes notes.

“Do you think Stark Industry’s has changed recently?” Steve asks in a monotone fashion.

“As of recently, yes. It has a new focus now, a new mission statement. And maybe it wants something new as well.” Tony says, keeping his eyes focused on the drawing and not daring to look at Steve.

“Something new? Can I ask like what, Mr.Stark?” Steve asks quietly.

“Something real, something with value, something that… matters.” Tony says softly.

“Well I think I have everything I need for the new designs Mr.Stark.” Steve says, nodding at him before walking towards the door.

“Steve, wait-“ He says, unsure what else he can say. He hasn’t even begun to explain how he feels and he’s already feeling too vulnerable and exposed. It’s like his chest has been ripped open all over again and Steve can rip out his heart at any second.

“Yes Mr.Stark?” Steve asks as he turns around, a steely look in his eyes.

“I… I wasn’t just talking about… Stark Industry’s.” He stammers out.

Steve’s face flickers with emotion before he says, “So tell me what you want from me, Mr.Stark?”

“I…..” He trails off, “You. I want you.”

“You want me? As in you want me to go revamp this design for you? Or you want me bent over this desk? Or you want to date me?” Steve asks, his face still unreadable.

God, that gave him some really great mental images.

“I.. yes, that, I mean…” He says, unsure how to explain how he feels.

“Tony, I like you, I do. But I need to know what you want from this, to know if I want it too. I’m not… I can’t just hook up with my boss and act like its nothing. That’s not me and that’s not what I want. But if that’s what you want, I’m sorry but I can’t….” Steve confesses, his eyes locked on hi.

“That’s not what I want, I mean obviously I want to fuck you, anyone with eyes would, but not in like a hookup way, I mean, I want to date you and take you out and try this whole relationship thing, and I can’t promise I’ll be any good at it but I want try to. With you.” He rambles on and on until he’s breathless, his cheeks pink as Steve’s eyes bore into his.

“Okay.” Steve says with a soft smile.

“Okay?” Tony asks, unsure he can believe his ears.

“I want to try. With you too.” Steve says, a small smile coming across his face.

“Really?” He asks, still wanting to make sure. 

“Really Tony.” Steve says as he rushes towards him and crushes his lips with a kiss. It’s so much deeper than the last one and Steve’s the one taking the lead and that is so hot-

“Dinner? Tonight?” He asks, breaking away from the kiss. He needs at least attempt to be a gentleman about this.

“Okay.” Steve says softly before leaning in to kiss him again.

He was definitely the right man for this job.


End file.
